IT PAYS TO BE FLEXIBLE

You're thinking about downward dogs right now aren't you?! You know, that yoga pose where your hands and feet are on the ground and you're booty's in air!

Yeah, that counts too but I'll share with you a little story about being flexible when life decides it's in a season of throwing all kinds of curve balls your way.

I'm in California!!

I made it, intact and in time. Here's a cute pic of my front porch! But let me give you the low-down on what happened just hours before we left. (Monday start date, by the way!)

TUES: I got a call from my agency that a blood test came back false positive and I had to get another one. It's a test that takes 3 days to read and I also had to wait until Wednesday to get it. (Psst, we're leaving Wed morning!)

There was another test I needed to complete by end of day today - they called me at 4pm.

WED: We get a late start - no biggie. I get a call from my Doctor's office with abnormal results from my physical. They said I needed to come in and get blood redrawn. "Yea... I'm leaving for California right now and I'll be back in April." They said it was fine so I'm not too worried.

We stop in Wichita to get my repeat injection, adds an hour to the trip. Again, no biggie...

What transpired over the next few days was more paperwork that wasn't originally given to me to complete that delayed my start date (thankfully only hours and not a whole week), financial expenditures because hey, going on assignment is like going to college, apparently!

Going to 3 different people and places in the hospital just to find someone to read my injection (because there's a time frame for that too), the hospital "not having me on file" as coming and confusion between them and a sister hospital, over $1000 of repairs needed on my car after the drive and just a few other things that resulted in my agency saying,

"Just be ready for either location by 0800 and we'll call you in the morning and tell you which one."

Which in all actuality this wasn't very different from what I experienced when I studied abroad in Europe! I like to say about that experience, "if anything would have actually went right, it would have been all wrong." So as odd as it sounds, I felt at home in this season of transition and chaos.

Because when it gets down to it, you do what you gotta do. You know what I mean?!

Here's why it PAYS to be flexible. I noticed during that experience that my heart was light and actually joyous - nostalgic, my mind was clear and my breath was easy.

Again, thank you Europe!

But seriously, life is stressful! However, we get to choose what we get stressed out about and what we don't. You LITERALLY have the POWER to flip the switch and DECIDE that you're no longer going to let what's stressing you out, stress you out.

Don't get me wrong, a few days later my muscles got tight, heart was heavy and all my body wanted to do was shut down. So I myself am never void of anxious days but I'm getting much better building my practice of flipping the switch!

What would I have gained from freaking out during that whole process? Nothing. I was doing everything I could each time a new curve ball was thrown my way.

It pays to be flexible in life.

It pays in positive energy! It pays in keeping your sanity, you gain more clarity in situations, you don't feel an overwhelming sense of doom that manifests itself and many other ways in your life: fights with your significant other, yelling at your kids (or doggie), stomach issues, losing your keys, or rushing to get out of work so quickly only to realize 5 minutes down the road you have to go back because you forgot something.